


Recovery

by cwjughead (orphan_account)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie-centric, Basically, Depression, Doctors, Healing, Hospitals, Multi, Murder, Recovery, Suicidal Thoughts, Worried Jughead, archie is bisexual, archie is broken, archie is in a hospital, betty and veronica are not happy, but deep down she cares, but pov changes, cheryl is not a helpful person, jughead is asexual, jughead just wants his best friend, self blame, supportive betty, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 06:41:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11846070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/cwjughead
Summary: After Fred Andrews took the bullet for Archie on that morning in Pop's, Archie was brought to the hospital due to being a potential shock victim.The doctors and nurses try to question him about what happened, about how he feels, but Archie had detached, mentally, from the rest of the world.Nothing felt right. He didn't feel whole, and he most certainly couldn't process how his father -- The Fred Andrews -- was dead. Shot down by a masked stranger in a little diner.And gossip spreads fast in Riverdale, so within hours, everyone knows about what went down at Pop Tates, leaving Betty, Veronica and Jughead shaken to the core.They all want what's best for Archie, but at this point, what is the best for Archie?Archie seems certain that there is no best anymore, but Jughead is hellbent on proving that there is a best, no matter what happens.





	Recovery

**Author's Note:**

> This is technically my first fanfiction, so bear with me!

Archie stared at the blood that stained his skin -- his father's blood -- numbly. As soon as the had shot rung through the quiet, once peaceful diner, the teen's mind seemed to shut down.

He had never seen so much blood before, he was sure. It was so hot and bright, that he was afraid that he would pass out if he stared for longer, so he had looked up to watch as Pop Tate dialed for help. The ringing in his ears blocked out what was said on that call for help, but he didn't really care. 

When the paramedics and the police arrived, Archie watched as they took his father away on the stretcher, watched as they tried to talk to him and assess his current state, but it was all white noise to the him.  
All Archie could seem to do was watch.

All of that ended Archie up in a hospital room, being watched over as a potential shock victim. The nurses would frequently try to question him, but never really got what they were looking for. At most, they got a quiet and broken, "is my dad dead?"

None of the nurses ever knew how to quite answer him.  
That was, however, until Fred Andrews' doctor stepped inside, followed by a young woman dressed in warm-coloured clothes.

"Mister Andrews?" The doctor asked, his eyes sympathetic. Archie looked up, brown eyes dull.

"That's me." He responded blankly. His face was pale, and he truly looked like a ghost. It was scary, almost. 

"I need to talk to you about your father. We were able to extract the bullet from his abdomen, but.." The doctor trailed off, closing his eyes as he braced for the worst. Normally, he got screaming, crying, or even blatant denial from the victims families upon telling them 'the news'.

Archie did not deliver. In fact, his reaction shocked the doctor quite a bit. He was motionless, eyes seeming to stare through the two like they weren't even there.

"Mister Andrews? Are you alright?" The woman asked, taking a step closer. Upon close inspection, her nametag explained that she was a grief councillor named Meg.  
She wasn't doing a very good job, Archie decided.

"He's dead." Archie mumbled, pushing himself off of the uncomfortable hospital bed. The smell of the hospital was suddenly suffocating.

"I need to go." Archie murmured, trying to slip past the doctor. He wasn't able to, and that only caused his broken frustration to grow.  
"Son, you need to stay here for a little bit, just so we can evaluate you." The doctor chided gently.

Turns out, the doctor's use of son hurt Archie more than he thought possible.  
The ginger boy fell to his knees before Meg and the doctor, and was suddenly unable to hold back the tears any longer.  
Meg urged the doctor to leave the room and kneeled beside Archie, only to be pushed away in the end. It didn't shock her, though. Most of the time, grief-stricken people wouldn't accept comfort from strangers.

What would happen now, Archie wondered.  
Who would he live with? What would he tell his friends?

His friends.

They would have heard about the incident, the whole of Riverdale would have heard about it by now.  
Would they know that it was Archie and his father who were caught in the middle? 

The thought of their expressions when they find out sickened Archie.  
He could almost imagine the grossly worried expression on his best friend's face. He knew that Jughead, while not the most affectionate person, would go to the ends of the earth to comfort him, and Archie would welcome it with open arms. He'd accept anything from Jughead, to be honest.

It wasn't until Meg left the room that Archie withdrew his phone from the pocket of his letterman, scrolling through the dozens of texts from his friends. Most of them basically just read, "are you okay?!" Archie didn't have the heart, or the energy, to respond to any of them.

He slipped the phone back into his pocket, before sitting up against the wall beside the bed and letting his eyes slide shut.  
Clearly, there was no getting out of the hospital right now, so why bother trying?

He was pulled under in moments, into a nightmarish state until he woke.

**Author's Note:**

> more chapters on the way!  
> also, the doctor isn't really anyone, just a filler, and meg (the grief councillor) will show up in future chapters!
> 
> ahaha, i love to torture my characters
> 
> anyways, thank you for reading this first chapter!


End file.
